Chapter 60: The Old Prince Next Door 13

Ever since the Empress Dowager learned that Prince Chen’s health was improving due to Su Huandan’s cooking, she sent someone to check on them every day.

“How is Prince Chen today?” the Empress Dowager asked daily.

“This morning, the Princess Consort prepared a bowl of chicken soup wontons with wild vegetable and pork filling, along with a dish of toasted bun slices. The Prince praised it highly. For lunch, they say the Princess Consort’s household plans to make Big Plate Chicken.” As the little eunuch finished his report, the Empress Dowager began to salivate.

She had eaten Big Plate Chicken before. Ten days ago, Su Huandan’s family made a large batch using two whole chickens and sent a generous portion to Prince Chen. Prince Chen, mindful of his mother and his nephew the Emperor, didn’t keep much for himself and sent most of it into the palace.

The Empress Dowager and her son had managed to get one meal out of that Big Plate Chicken.

That chicken was incredibly fragrant, and the dried vegetables, though not much to look at, had soaked up all the savory oils. They weren’t greasy at all; in fact, they tasted even better than the chicken. Then there was the sauce. After eating some of the chicken and vegetables, they had boiled hand-pulled noodles two fingers wide and tossed them into the remaining sauce. The mother and son had eaten until they were stuffed that day.

Later, the recipe was given to the Imperial Kitchen, but no matter how they made it, it never tasted as good as the version from Su Huandan’s house.

Su Huandan thought to herself: How could it be the same? To ensure I can have children, I’ve been adding plenty of Spiritual Spring Water to Prince Chen’s food lately.

Whether or not there was Spiritual Spring Water in the food made a massive difference.

The amount of Spiritual Spring Water used was minimal, so the difference in taste might not be worlds apart, but the human body’s innate craving for the Spiritual Spring Water was the real reason the Empress Dowager was constantly fixated on the food from Su Huandan’s home.

“How is Prince Chen’s health?” Don’t just keep talking about food; I can’t eat it anyway, and hearing about it just makes me crave it.

The little eunuch spoke up quickly: “The Prince’s complexion is even ruddier today than yesterday. He looks exceptionally handsome. Aside from his new hair being a bit short and looking a little awkward, his complexion no longer shows any sign of a man recovering from a serious illness. Manager Gui Xi said the Prince has already begun practicing horsemanship within the Prince’s Estate.”

He can already practice horsemanship?

Then he truly was much better. Since the marriage was decreed, Prince Chen’s transformation had been visible day by day. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor now truly felt that Su Huandan brought good fortune to Prince Chen.

After dismissing the little eunuch, she said to the old nanny beside her, “Did the Imperial Observatory¹ get it wrong? Look at the results since the marriage was decreed. This is clearly a destiny that prospers her husband².”

The old nanny only smiled and did not answer. You are the Empress Dowager; your word is law. If you say she prospers her husband, then she prospers her husband. One certainly couldn’t go blaming the gentlemen of the Imperial Observatory.

They were truly innocent.

Who would dare deceive you?

Your son is an Emperor with real power, not some incompetent puppet held up by court officials. No official would dare fool you.

The wedding date was set for mid-September, a season of crisp autumn air and the time of harvest.

The officials of the Imperial Observatory were worried sick. Other people’s weddings only required calculating an auspicious day, but the Empress Dowager also demanded they calculate a day favorable for offspring…

Well, just ask how difficult a royal matriarch can be to please.

Thus, the date was set for September, the season of abundant fruit. Surely that was favorable enough for offspring?

During these days of waiting to be married, Su Huandan’s life was incredibly full.

After studying etiquette for three months, she had mastered it. Her posture and movements were flawless. Su Huandan had put more heart into learning these rituals than she had into her college entrance exams in her previous life.

After three months, Nanny Cui remained, but Su Huandan sent Nanny Bai back to the palace.

She didn’t like people who were always trying to run her household for her.

It was fine if it were her parents or her spouse; if there was something she missed, a reminder from them was acceptable. But you are just a nanny, yet you constantly want to control me? What are you trying to achieve?

Nanny Cui stayed, and then another nanny was sent to instruct Su Huandan on household management and affairs.

This type of nanny was a rare talent even within the palace.

It was very difficult to be a daughter-in-law of the imperial family. With so many holidays throughout the year, the mere act of sending gifts to various relatives was a complex science.

Despite Prince Chen’s sickly reputation, he still had over a dozen retainers. These retainers were his think tank, and how to reward them during festivals was a matter of great importance.

See? There truly was a lot to learn.

Although the imperial family did not have many members, the previous emperors had worked hard to produce children. This resulted in an exceptionally large number of Grand Consorts³ and Consorts from previous reigns, plus the current Emperor’s own harem. The birthdays of all these people required social etiquette and gift exchanges.

These tasks fell under internal affairs and were the responsibility of the Princess Consort. If a mistake was made, not only would the Princess Consort lose face, but Prince Chen would lose face along with her.

Therefore, Su Huandan studied even more diligently. She really didn’t want to make a fool of herself.

It was also during this time that Su Huandan finally straightened out the web of imperial relationships.

Prince Chen was currently the highest-ranking male in terms of seniority⁴ within the imperial family.

Prince Chen’s father, the Sacred Ancestor, had only two sons in his life. One was the Late Emperor, and the other was Prince Chen. The Late Emperor was born to the primary wife, while Prince Chen was born to a palace maid.

The Late Emperor had ascended the throne after the Sacred Ancestor abdicated, but unfortunately, he passed away less than two years into his reign, becoming the Late Emperor.

The Sacred Ancestor was the Retired Emperor at the time. Upon hearing of his son’s death, he nearly failed to recover and almost followed him to the grave.

Because there were so few offspring, there was truly no friction between the Sacred Ancestor and his sons.

The Late Emperor had only one son, born to the Empress Dowager. However, the Late Emperor had a Noble Consort and four other high-ranking Consorts. Su Huandan had to pay special attention to these five. It wasn’t that they hadn’t borne children; they had all given birth to princesses. This meant the current Emperor had five sisters.

The “Grand Consorts” referred to the women of the Sacred Ancestor’s harem. Only one remained now, known as Grand Consort Jing. Her daughter was the true Great Grand Princess⁵ of the Great Jing Dynasty, and both mother and daughter were still alive.

With six princesses across two reigns, these were definitely legitimate relatives who required social visits; they could not be ignored.

Nanny Xu, who was teaching the lessons, said regretfully, “It is a pity that Her Highness Imperial Noble Consort⁶ Yixiao passed away early. Otherwise, you would have a mother-in-law to guide you through these matters, and there would be no need for this old servant.”

Su Huandan: …

Please, don’t say that. I think you’re great. While not all mothers-in-law are bad people, a woman is still very happy not to have one.

Su Huandan felt she was no exception.

“The current Emperor has five princes but no princesses yet. Unfortunately, aside from the legitimate son born to the Empress, who is relatively healthy, the other princes all have weak constitutions.” The eldest son was only eight years old, and the youngest had just been born last month. The continuation of the imperial bloodline was indeed a serious problem.

Su Huandan thought to herself, how could there not be a problem?

The imperial family of the Great Jing Dynasty had practiced intermarriage between close relatives for five or six generations now. To a modern person, the reason why the imperial family found it increasingly difficult to produce heirs was blindingly obvious.

Even the princesses mostly married back into their maternal clans. It was rumored that the children they bore were also of poor health.

Tsk, they were practically walking the path toward extinction.

However, she decided to wait until she actually managed to give birth before worrying about such matters.

Su Huandan spent another two months studying the management of imperial internal affairs. She decided to retain Nanny Xu’s services. Such a talented individual was hard to find, and keeping her as an assistant would be wise. It would be ridiculous if she had to handle every single detail personally.

Now that she was a Princess Consort, what was the point if she couldn’t enjoy her life instead of constantly fussing over work?

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Imperial Observatory: The Qintianjian (钦天监), a government office responsible for astronomy, astrology, and the selection of auspicious dates for imperial weddings, funerals, and ceremonies. Their failure to predict a ‘lucky’ match could be seen as a professional or political failure. ↩
2. destiny that prospers her husband: The concept of ‘Wang Fu’ (旺夫), a traditional belief that a woman’s astrological chart or character can bring good luck, wealth, and health to her husband. It was a highly valued trait for a prospective wife in historical and fictional contexts. ↩
3. Grand Consorts: Specifically ‘Taifei’ (太妃), the widows of the previous emperor. While they held high status, they often lived in seclusion or specific palaces. Managing relationships with them was a delicate part of a new Princess Consort’s social duties. ↩
4. seniority: In the Chinese imperial clan, ‘beifen’ (辈分) or generational rank often mattered more than age. A younger man could be the ‘uncle’ or ‘grandfather’ to an older emperor, requiring specific forms of address and deference. ↩
5. Great Grand Princess: The title ‘Da Zhang Gongzhu’ (大长公主), usually reserved for the aunt of the reigning emperor (the sister of the previous emperor). They often held significant prestige and influence within the imperial clan. ↩
6. Imperial Noble Consort: The title ‘Huang Guifei’ (皇贵妃), the highest rank of imperial consort, second only to the Empress. She often acted as a deputy Empress or managed the harem if the Empress was deceased or incapacitated. ↩